ST. LOUIS - Love the outcome or despise the outcome, this is how the Illinois-Missouri Braggin' Rights game is supposed to be.

Intense. Emotional. Tight.

And most of all, memorable.

Stefhon Hannah, Missouri's excellent, sure-handed point guard, lost control of the ball trying to wiggle open for a potential game-tying 3-pointer and Illinois hung on for a frantic, frenzied, back-and-forth 73-70 victory Tuesday night in front of 22,153 fans at the Scottrade Center.

"It was a war out there tonight," said Illinois' Brian Randle, who made one of the key plays of game when he tipped out a rebound after Chester Frazier missed a pair of free throws with 27.7 seconds to play. "I'm disappointed that I'm the one that turned it over against their press, but apparently the Lord was looking out for us. We got a break when Hannah lost it."

Jamar Smith's two free throws with 24.3 seconds to play gave Illinois a 73-68 lead. But Hannah scored on a drive with 17 seconds to go to pull Missouri to within three.

Twice Illinois tried to in-bounds the ball against Missouri's scrambling pressure. When Smith was trapped in the back court, Illinois called timeout with 11.7 seconds to go. And on the next attempt, Randle lost control of the ball and when it rolled out of bounds, Missouri had possession with one last chance and 4.8 seconds to play.

The ball went to Hannah. But when he juked inside the 3-point line, he quickly tried to back up to position himself for the game-tying shot.

That's when the ball squirted free and was corralled by Illinois' Trent Meacham as time expired.

Illinois trailed 38-35 at halftime but won the second half by whipping Missouri on the boards and making more big plays down the stretch.

"I think it shows how much heart this team has," said Smith, who had 17 points for Illinois (10-2).

"In the second half, when it came to crunch time, we knew we had to lay it on the line," Randle said. "We reverted back to practice because we just kill each other, to be honest. We battled. Shaun Pruitt had a huge game. He played like a beast, like one of the best players in the country."

Pruitt led Illinois with 19 points and nine rebounds. Warren Carter had 12 points in just 23 minutes. He was hampered by foul trouble and left the game for good with 1:59 to go with what Illini coach Bruce Weber described as a hip flexor.

The game was tied six times and the lead changed hands 10 times in a thriller that should re-ignite the intensity of this rivalry after Illinois scored a 32-point victory a year ago.

This ended the string of first-year coaches winning in their Braggin' Rights debut. New Missouri coach Mike Anderson fell just short but said he was proud of the fight in his Tigers.

"You saw it like I saw it," Anderson said. "I thought it was a whale of a basketball game. I thought time just ran out. I wish we could have had five more minutes.

"I'm proud of the effort from our guys, but you've got to give credit to Illinois. I thought down the stretch some of their experienced players made big plays for them. But our guys left it on the floor. In this kind of game, in this kind of setting, that's all you can ask the guys to do."

Illinois did not make a basket in the game's final four minutes. But the Illini converted six of nine free throws during the stretch run and that proved enough.

Illinois took a 69-66 lead with 2:28 to play when Rich McBride hit two free throws.

When Hannah missed a pair of free throws with 1:59 to go, Randle ripped down the rebound. And even though Illinois did not follow with a score, Randle blocked Hannah's attempted drive and grabbed the ball inside of a minute. Missouri fouled Frazier with 56.2 seconds to go and Frazier hit a pair of free throws to make it 71-66. Two free throws by Leo Lyons brought Missouri to within three at 71-68 with 41 seconds to play.

Frazier returned to the free-throw line with 27.7 seconds to go. And when he missed both shots, it looked as though Missouri might have a chance to tie the game. But Randle tapped the rebound out and Smith grabbed it. He was fouled and his two free throws restored Illinois five-point lead, 73-68 with 24.3 seconds to go.

Hannah's drive with 17 seconds left cut Illinois' lead to 73-70, setting up the final exchange that included turnovers by Randle and Hannah.

Weber was delighted with how well Illinois handled Missouri's press. On the night, Illinois had 14 turnovers and point guard Frazier had six assists and just three turnovers, playing a few seconds shy of the entire 40-minute game.

Illinois had to patch together a lineup for much of the first half after starters Carter, McBride and Randle each picked up two early personal fouls.

Carter, who started with a flourish and had seven points and three rebounds in 10 minutes, sat the final 8:50 minutes of the half. McBride and Randle played just nine first-half minutes.

That meant nine minutes for Meacham, seven for Calvin Brock, 12 for Smith and three for Marcus Arnold.

While the makeshift lineup was scrambling to hold its own, Missouri (9-2) was humming on offense, shooting 52 percent for the half including 5-for-10 from 3-point range.

Illinois returns home and takes on Idaho State Thursday night in the Assembly Hall before Christmas break and the final non-conference game, a Dec. 29 showdown against Xavier in Cincinnati. Mark Tupper can be reached at mtupper@herald-review.com or 421-7983.